


this world is a whirlwind

by PaintedPetrichor



Category: RWBY
Genre: Childbirth, F/F, Pregnancy, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-05 15:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11581203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintedPetrichor/pseuds/PaintedPetrichor
Summary: Blake and Yang finally welcome their firstborn.But the universe won't let it be easy.





	1. Chapter 1

Cool night air blows through the window as Blake watches her wife undress. Yang tosses off her top, unzips her pants, and pulls off her bra before putting on a pajama top and shorts. Clasping flesh and metal fingers, she stretches her arms above her head until the faint _pop_ of her knuckles is heard. At the end of the routine, Yang disengages the latch on her prosthetic. With a twist the metal arm detaches and Yang sets it on the nightstand.

“How’re my girls?” Yang asks, slipping under the covers behind Blake and wrapping her arm around her partner. Her hand rests over Blake’s, which holds her rounded tummy as if someone might try to snatch it away from her.

Blake relaxes, though only slightly, settling into Yang’s embrace. “We’re okay,” she answers, feeling around for any movement from her unborn baby. “B’s a bit quiet tonight.”

“Oh, yeah?” Yang sits up, leaning over Blake to press her lips to Blake’s naval. Blake watches, unable to keep from smiling as her wife whispers to their baby. Yang’s lavender eyes are the warmest thing she's ever seen. She knows how anxious Yang is to hold their child in her arms, to know them in a deeper way than by feeling Blake’s stomach or watching blurry ultrasounds. Blake, too, is anxious for this. After being pregnant for thirty-nine weeks, this baby has long outstayed its welcome.

“Gonna kick for me tonight, honey?” Yang asks in a soft, low voice, gently prodding for a response. Blake winces, because _damn_ does being overdue hurt. Sure, it’s only a few days past her due date, but her normal pregnancy aches and pains seem to have increased tenfold.

“I think I’m ready to try some of those labor-inducing tricks tomorrow,” Blake says as Yang snuggles back up to her.

“Sure,” Yang replies, curling strands of Blake’s hair around her fingers. “Any contractions yet?”

“A few today,” Blake says. “Too far apart to be labor yet. Just pain.”

“Ah. I’m sorry, hon,” Yang says, adjusting so she can massage Blake’s back. “What can I do?”

“Right now, all I want is to get some sleep,” Blake answers.

“No problem.” Yang reaches over to plant a kiss on her partner’s forehead. “Good night babe, other babe,” she says, the words muffled by Blake’s shirt. “Wake me if you need anything.” Only a minute later, Blake can her her snoring softly, in sync with her breathing, a warm, steady presence at her back.

It doesn’t stop the impending dread that keeps Blake up, long into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments always appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Yang wakes with a scream.

This is a more common occurrence than she likes to admit. Sometimes it’s due to phantom pain, but usually it’s nightmares. 

Burning red eyes, always following. 

Grimm, towering over her, impossibly huge.

Bodies, mangled and bloody, barely recognizable as loved ones.

Or nothing. Desolate, infinite, terrifying nothing.

Her partner’s anguished cry rings out. Can’t forget those dreams, Yang notes. Real sons of bitches. 

Yang finds that the bed is empty next to her, and the bathroom light is on. She hears another scream. Realizing that it was _not_ her own night terrors that had woken her, Yang springs out of bed and into the brightly-lit bathroom.

She finds Blake on the floor. She’s curled tightly in on herself, clutching her abdomen as tears stream down her face. The room reeks of vomit, and what Yang fears is blood. She’s wondering if Blake has even noticed her presence when another cry rings out.

“Shit,” Yang mutters, dropping to her knees in front of her partner. She grabs Blake’s shoulder and tries to get a good look at her face, twisted in pain and hidden behind loose strands of hair that were stuck to her sweat and tears. 

“What’s wrong?” Yang asks, swallowing her panic. “Did something happen?”

Blake gasps, and it takes a minute before she can respond. “I don’t know,” she says, gripping a fistful of her own hair as she struggles to cope with the pain. “I was having contractions. Not too frequent. Then, then just pain.” Yang could only stand by as Blake let out another sob. “It hurts _so_ bad, Yang.”

“How long has it lasted?”

Blake steels herself and takes a moment to think. “Ten minutes?” she suggests. She looks up to meet Yang’s concerned gaze, her own eyes red from crying and exhaustion. Yang already knows what she’s thinking.

“Something’s wrong.”

Yang tries to keep a straight face as her stomach drops. “Okay,” she says, taking a deep breath. “Okay. I guess we’re going to the hospital.” Her knees wobble as she stands. “Hang tight.”

Yang darts across their apartment, gathering the duffle bag they’d packed for the hospital. Almost as a last thought, she stops to reattach her arm and throw on a pair of cargo pants. Into her pocket she slips both her and Blake’s scrolls, and a pair of car keys from the drawer in the nightstand.

“Okay, let’s motor,” Yang says, returning to Blake’s side and helping her up. Blake, one arm around her protruding belly and the other around her wife, struggles to her feet, her cries of pain reduced to a near-constant moan. At the bedroom door she has to stop, and Yang shoulders the duffle bag and carries her bridal style the rest of the way.

“Guess we’re taking the Braiths’ car after all,” Yang says, unlocking the red four-door parked outside their apartment complex. She settles Blake into the passenger seat, grateful that the older couple next door had offered them their car in case of an emergency. Taking Bumblebee or, worse, public transit, isn’t an option now. After making Blake as comfortable as she could, Yang hops into the driver’s seat and starts the car.

“How’re you holding up?” Yang asks, sparing a glance towards Blake while pulling out into the street.

Blake bites her lip and gives Yang a small nod. “I’m okay,” she says in a small voice, staring at her feet (or, more accurately, at what she could still see of them). It’s a lie, and they both know it. Yang, now focused on the road in front of her, hears Blake sniff before she starts to cry again.

Yang reaches over and takes Blake’s hand in hers. It’s not much, Yang thinks, especially because she has to do it with her metal arm. All in all, she’s accepted the prosthetic, but offering her miserable wife a cold metal hand feels like a shit excuse for comfort.

But it’s all that she can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and all of the kudos and reviews!
> 
> Comments, no matter how short or long, are always appreciated! <3
> 
> Thanks to GentleTouchGinger for editing!! <3 <3


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